Engadget

Apple offers Find My Mac for beta testing, wants to play Cops and Robbers

Billy Steele — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 23:03:00 EST

Ever misplaced your hard earned MacBook Air or had an entire project vanish at the hands of a dirty thief, only to be gone forever? Well friends, the time is coming soon for the Find My Mac feature to provide a highly sought after sigh of relief, Find My iPhone-style. Apple has released the software into the wild for registered iOS devs, with the only other requirements being OS X Lion and an iCloud subscription. Using WiFi networks to locate your missing appendage via a web browser or iOS device, the location tool offers you a number of anti-theft options -- send a threatening message, lock down the machine remotely, or even wipe the machine's drive clean. Perhaps we will see this security detail launch with iCloud in fall, which was also released in beta form earlier this week.

Apple offers Find My Mac for beta testing, wants to play Cops and Robbers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 23:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple iCloud and iWork beta for iOS hands-on

Zach Honig — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 17:48:00 EST

We've had a few weeks to get accustomed to iOS 5 and Mac OS X Lion, but one headlining feature has been notably inaccessible since it was unveiled earlier this summer. During his WWDC keynote, Steve Jobs touted iCloud as a service that will sync many of your Apple devices, for free. Macs, iPhones, iPads, and even Windows computers can synchronize documents, contacts, calendar appointments, and other data. You'll also be able to back up your iOS devices remotely, use an Apple-hosted email account, and store your music in the cloud. Well, this week Apple finally lit up its cloud-based service for developers, letting some of us take a sneak peek at the new service.

Apple also announced pricing, confirming that you'll be able to add annual subscriptions with 10GB ($20), 20GB ($40), or 50GB ($100) of storage 'atop your free 5GB account. We took our five gig account for a spin, creating documents in Pages, spreadsheets in Numbers, and presentations in Keynote, then accessing them from the iCloud web interface to download Microsoft Office and PDF versions. We also tried our luck at iOS data syncing and the soon-to-be-controversial Photo Stream, so jump past the break for our full iCloud hands-on.

Gallery: Apple iCloud and iWork beta hands-on

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Apple iCloud and iWork beta for iOS hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Aug 2011 17:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple's Find My iPhone / iPad service now free, doesn't require MobileMe

Nilay Patel — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:54:00 EST

We'd been sort of hoping Apple would just make MobileMe a completely free service, but it looks like we're taking baby steps instead: Find My iPhone / iPad is now free for iPhone 4, the iPad, and the fourth-gen iPod touch running iOS 4.2.1. As with the paid feature, you'll be able to locate your device on a map, lock it, display a message, play a sound, or remotely wipe your data from any browser or the updated iOS app, which should presumably go live sometime today along with iOS 4.2.1 itself. Like we said, it's a baby step, but hey -- we never say no to free.

Update: Okay, so this is strange -- Find My iPhone is free for all devices running iOS 4.2.1, but you can only register for the service from an iPhone 4, iPad, or new iPod touch, unless you pay for MobileMe. Why? We'd guess it's to limit it to owners of the newest gear, but whatever -- if you've got an iPhone 4-toting friend you can totally get in on the action.

Apple's Find My iPhone / iPad service now free, doesn't require MobileMe originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon's Mobile Recovery: like 'Find my iPhone,' but for VZW Android, webOS and BlackBerry handsets

Darren Murph — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 02:02:00 EST

Fancy the idea of having Big Brother track your handset if it goes missing, but aren't so keen on owning an iPhone, ponying up for MobileMe and signing a deal with AT&T? Fret not, fretful one, as Verizon Wireless has just launched an extension of its Total Equipment Coverage program that essentially provides the same services, but for VZW-branded BlackBerry, webOS and Android phones. The full list of compatible phones is down there in the source, and the best news is that the Mobile Recovery app is offered free of charge to those already ponying up $7.99 per month for TEC. When enabled, it will allow users to remotely lock the device, sound an alarm (solving the infamous "couch cushion" dilemma) and wipe contacts from the phone. If a recovery proves unsuccessful, the carrier will supposedly provide you with a next-day replacement, but we've got an idea that there are quite a few lines of fine print to read beforehand. At any rate, it's a lovely option to have -- particularly if you're already paying for TEC -- and it's available to download and activate as we speak.

Continue reading Verizon's Mobile Recovery: like 'Find my iPhone,' but for VZW Android, webOS and BlackBerry handsets

Verizon's Mobile Recovery: like 'Find my iPhone,' but for VZW Android, webOS and BlackBerry handsets originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 02:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple launches 'Find My iPhone' app to remotely wipe and find your lost treasure

Thomas Ricker — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 04:05:00 EST

Stay with us here because this one isn't obvious. Apple just launched its Find My iPhone app on the iTunes App Store -- a service previously limited to MobileMe's web interface. The App will find your iPhone or iPad or iPod touch should it be lost or stolen. So obviously, you don't install it on your lost/stolen device, you install it on a different iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, yours or somebody else's (try a Starbucks). Panicked owners can then login with their MobileMe account to map their missing property and then remotely lock the device or wipe the data. The App can only be installed on iOS 3.1.3 or later devices and is available now for free.

Gallery: Apple launches 'Find My iPhone' app to remotely wipe and find your lost treasure

[Thanks, Brian M.]

Apple launches 'Find My iPhone' app to remotely wipe and find your lost treasure originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 04:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Find My iPhone reunites true nerd with lost iPhone

Paul Miller — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:43:00 EST

You know, we might be inclined to disbelieve this exciting tale of derring-do if it weren't for the highly improbably heroics and ingenuity displayed by its three protagonists -- you just can't make this stuff up. Probably. Kevin, Ryan and Mark were in Chicago minding their own nerdness out at Brickworld when Kevin left his iPhone behind at a dive bar. When they went back for it just minutes later the phone was gone, and instead of calling the cops like a bunch of suckers, Kevin and co. did the right thing and pulled out a Sprint 3G dongle and a MacBook Pro. Unfortunately, Find My iPhone couldn't get a lock on his phone at all -- it was either off or out of data range. The next day at lunch he finally got a delivery confirmation message from me.com, which kicked off a wild, dangerous chase into the wilds of Chicago. We won't spoil the ending for you (he finds the iPhone), but Kevin does raise a couple good points about the service functionality: you need to pull up MobileMe on laptop to use the service (instead of perhaps another iPhone), movement updates aren't pushed, ringer volume impacts alert volume whether the phone is on vibrate or not, and there should be an option for controlling the phone in more nefarious ways like taking pictures. We're glad it all ended up well, but those moments of Lego bliss that Kevin and his friends missed out on are gone forever.

[Thanks, Tristan W.]

Filed under: Culture, Software, Apple, iPhone OS

Find My iPhone reunites true nerd with lost iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Find My iPhone reunites true nerd with lost iPhone

Paul Miller — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:42:00 EST

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Find My iPhone reunites true nerd with lost iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Find My iPhone is live, totally found our iPhone

Paul Miller — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:16:00 EST

We wouldn't really say we "have it together" when it comes to remembering where we put our keys / phone / small children, so Apple's announcement of the Find My iPhone service for MobileMe users came as quite a relief. The service just went live, and with a quick toggle of a preference pane in iPhone OS 3.0 the phone is fully prepared for all sorts of lost and found scenarios -- along with acting as an incredibly intuitive (if pricey) stalking mechanism. Find My iPhone works exactly as advertised, giving us a fairly good location estimate from within our lead-lined underground fortress, and sending annoying messages to the phone complete with sound, even when the handset is switched to silent, though unfortunately the sound is a sort of sonar ping that strikes us as incredibly difficult to locate, unless of course our phone is taken by whale. The only other problem is that both the location function and the message service took a couple minutes to track down our iPhone -- not a deal breaker, but we don't know what the hangup could be. After the device is pinged, a confirmation of the event was sent to our MobileMe email address. A live, enthralling video demonstration is after the break.

Gallery: Find My iPhone is live, totally found our iPhone

Continue reading Find My iPhone is live, totally found our iPhone

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Handhelds

Find My iPhone is live, totally found our iPhone originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Jun 2009 19:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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USB tethering, Publish Video and Find my iPhone found in OS 3.0

Ross Miller — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:04:00 EST

Apple touted quite a few new iPhone features at yesterday's OS 3.0 event, but now that the beta build is trickling out, there's been a bevy of unearthed discoveries to further pique our interests. First up, the gang at Boy Genius Report found an option to enable the "Find My iPhone" service in the MobileMe settings. Unfortunately, that's all we've got, but we wouldn't put it past Cupertino to build some me.com-linked location tracker that'd be the envy of Orwell himself -- hey, that'd be pretty useful if you accidentally left the mobile in a taxi. Also in the MobileMe section, it now says Publish Video when you go to publish an image. It's an odd typo, to be sure, and while video recording has been near the top of our wishlist for some time, we're not about to get our hopes up. Finally, Mac Rumors is reporting that a hacker has dug up and successfully activated the USB tethering capabilities. Apple's Scott Forstall had mentioned the devs were building it in, but were still in talks with the carriers. As to whether any or all of these functions will actually end up in the final OS 3.0 build, your guess is a good as ours. For now, check out more pics of the MobileMe additions after the break.

[Thanks everyone who sent this in!]

Read - Find My iPhone
Read - USB Tethering

Continue reading USB tethering, Publish Video and Find my iPhone found in OS 3.0

Filed under: Handsets, Apple

USB tethering, Publish Video and Find my iPhone found in OS 3.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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